


Downtime

by lasairfhiona



Category: Proof of Life
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-01
Updated: 2013-01-01
Packaged: 2017-11-23 04:24:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/618041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lasairfhiona/pseuds/lasairfhiona
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dino is in need of downtime </p><p>smallfandomfest 12<br/>prompt: Proof of Life: Terry/Dino: Down time</p>
            </blockquote>





	Downtime

He sat in his hotel room in Columbia and debated what to do. Dino thought when he and Terry formed their own shop; he wouldn't be going out into the field anymore. He couldn't have been more wrong. The bruises on top of bruises and the knife wound on his ribs proved that more than the dirty clothes lying in a heap on the bathroom floor. He'd taken a nice long shower to rinse the dirt, grime and grease paint off his body, and then thanks to some topical anaesthetic he stitched himself up. Now that he was clean he needed to figure out what to do next.

Did he go back to his apartment in midtown Manhattan? Or did he go to the island with a bottle of twelve year old scotch and enjoy life under a palm tree while his bruises faded and his cuts healed. He didn't need a doctor to take out his stitches any more than he needed the doctor to put them in, he could do that himself. 

Decision made, he picked up the phone booked his tickets and called for a car. He had one more call to make before he left. 

"Terry, I'm going to the island. Have a Merry Christmas with your son." Dino said leaving the message on Terry's voicemail. 

That done, Dino headed down to get the car and then the airport. He needed sleep but he figured he could do that on the beach where he knew it would be safe and quiet.

&&&

He'd called from one of his layover to have the house opened and the food stocked. He looked forward to the pristine house with its neutral colours and comfortable furniture. 

So when he arrived and found the house open and a breeze blowing through the house he took a deep breath and smiled. This was what he needed; time away, time to heal and time to make damn sure he wouldn't be going out in the field again. He was getting too old for this shit.

Dropping his bag in the bedroom, he stripped off his clothes and leaving them in a heap on the floor and dropped into bed barely remembering to pull the top sheet over his body. The sheets were cool against the warmth of his skin and the temperature. His exhaustion caught up with him and he drifted off to sleep with the sound of the ocean.

&&&

When Dino finally woke again, he looked out the window at the lightening sky. Dawn. He'd arrived around noon which means he slept a good eighteen hours. Besides the pull on his side when he stretched, reminding him about his stitches, he actually felt a little better.

Padding to the bathroom, he took care of business and then drew a basin full of luke warm water and gave himself a once over with a wash cloth, figuring he'd wait a day or so before getting his stitches really wet. After putting antibiotic ointment on his sutures, he didn't bother putting any clothes on and headed for the kitchen and grabbed a glass of juice. 

Standing at the counter with his glass of orange juice, he looked out over the patio to the white sand and blue water. He debated making himself some breakfast but opted instead for going out on the deck and lying down on one of the loungers. Still tired he drifted back to sleep as the breeze blew across his body.

&&&

The sun beating down on his body woke him. Dino looked down his body and saw the slight tinge of color starting and knew it was time to move. And if his growling stomach was any indication, eat. 

Getting up and heading to the bedroom he dug out a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Cooking was the one thing he needed clothes for. Looking in the refrigerator he debated on what to have. He liked cooking but cooking just for himself wasn't fun. Deciding on an omelet, Dino quickly whipped up his meal, saving the extra mushrooms and onions to top a steak with tonight for dinner. 

Grabbing his tablet, he perused his email, and shot off a few emails while he ate. He needed to work on his South American team for insertions and negations so he was putting out feelers for more people. He was sure Terry would kill him when the accountant saw the budget but it would be worth it in the end.

His lunch and work finished, Dino dropped his dirty dishes in the sink and headed back out to the lounger. He pulled off his shirt rubbed his chest down with lotion, before dropping down onto the lounger and drifting off to sleep.

&&&

By his third day on the island, Dino had a lot of his long put off work done. His bruises were fading from dark purple to a lighter shade and starting to yellow on the smaller ones. He was starting to get restless. He couldn't go for a run nor could he do any real swimming because of the sutures in his side. It was starting to itch so he knew it was healing but not enough to withstand the stress of the nice long swim he was longing for. 

Dropping his shorts at the water line he waded out until he was chest deep and just floated, allowing the waves to move him around. He kept a close watch on the shoreline so he didn't get too far away and risk pulling his stitches. He knew this was probably the last thing he should be doing considering the stitches, but it felt way too good to be in the ocean. 

When he finally came in, he walked up the beach and dropped into the lounger again and let the sun and breeze dry him. He could get very use to this. In fact, he'd have to tease Terry when he talked to his partner next about retiring and becoming a kept man, ignoring the fact he would probably be board inside of a month, at the moment though he was willing to risk the boredom. 

He hadn't realized how tired and he was until he got here and all it seemed he had the energy to do was sleep and nap. He had managed to take a walk that morning but followed that with a long nap and considering how tired he was from floating around for an hour; he knew another nap was in order.

&&&

He stood on the beach just put of reach of the waves, a glass for scotch in on hand and a Cuban cigar in the other. It was his fifth day on the island and he was finally starting to feel human again. Maybe it was time to call Terry and find out how his Christmas with his son had been and see if he could talk the Aussie into coming out.

"Jesus mate, did you forget to duck?"

Turning, he saw Terry walking toward him his own glass of scotch and cigar. Now that was a coincidence, he was thinking of Terry and there he was. 

"Fuck you. Just because your side of the pond is more civilized," Dino said with a laugh.

"Fuck civilized. You're just a trouble magnet."

Dino shrugged. He did attract his fair share of trouble but no more than Terry had over the years. "Yeah well now that you're staying out of the field, you're not the one getting hurt anymore," Dino pointed out as he finished his scotch and sat the glass on the sand where his clothes and towel were.

"Going to have to do something to keep you out of the field," Terry said setting his now empty glass next to Dino's.

"Already have. The accountant isn't going to like me but I have a new crew leader I can trust and I'm working on a back up negotiator so I can sit back and lead the life of leisure. Maybe even work from the island," Dino said, taking a step away, waiting to see what Terry's reaction will be.

"You are not going to be a kept man."

Dino couldn't help but laugh. "It was worth a shot," he declared.

"Only you."

Dino plucked the half smoked cigar out of Terry's fingers and dropped it in the sand with his.

"Hey," Terry protested.

"Shut up," Dino instructed, grabbing Terry by the belt loops and pulling him in for a kiss

&&&

Dino woke to Terry running his fingers over his chest, tracing the outlines of the bruises and circling the sutures. 

"You really should learn to duck."

"I did. That's what got me stabbed," Dino admitted. He really didn't want to think about the retrieval gone wrong. 

"The reports didn't say how bad you were hurt."

"I didn't put it in the reports," he admitted. 

"Why?"

"Because you would have met me here and you needed to spend Christmas with Henry," Dino said talking Terry's fingers and kissing them.

"Probably."

"And I love ya for it, but you needed to be with Henry and I needed to sleep. I'm not going back to New York right away. I need some downtime so I'm going to stay here for a while and then I'll go back to New York."

"Whatever you need, Dean. You know I'll support you."

Dino rolled and laid his head on Terry's chest. He needed Terry as much as he needed this downtime.


End file.
